Body found in burning car in Carlisle

Carlisle police are investigating a case where a body was found after a car fire, but authorities still don't know whether the death was an accident, a suicide or homicide.

Firefighters found the body Wednesday night in a gated area between two businesses in the 100 block of N. Spring Garden Street.

Firefighters had responded to what was initially reported as a transformer fire shortly after 11:15 p.m. After about 10 minutes, flames that reached up to 30 feet were extinguished and the body was discovered inside the car.

Investigators spent the early morning hours at the scene, but the body is so badly burned that they could not immediately determine whether the victim is male or female. Police said a positive identification could take one or two days.

Authorities are also working to determine how the fire started. Neighbors reported hearing several loud explosions, and one man who went outside to investigate said it appeared as though the hood of the car had been blown off.

“It's very disturbing that it happens this close to you,” said Roger Spitz, a neighbor, “but we do what we do and we move on and hope that we find out who did it and what caused it.”

Another question is how the car got into the gated lot. Locals said the gates typically are open, but abc27 News was told the area was vacant as of 9 p.m.